Sara Duterte legal team to file response to impeachment court

The defense team of Vice President Sara Duterte vowed to comply with the summons of the impeachment court and file a response.

"We note that the Senate has convened as an Impeachment Court and that summons will be issued in due course," lawyer Michael Poa, the spokesperson of the legal team, said in a statement.

"We will comply and we will file the appropriate response in accordance with the Constitution and applicable rules," he added.

Poa said the team would refrain from further commenting "out of respect for the process."

The Senate on Monday convened as an impeachment court for Duterte's trial over allegations of culpable violation of the 1987 Constitution, graft and corruption, and betrayal of public trust.

The impeachment court ordered Duterte to file an answer within a non-extendible period of ten calendar days from receipt.

The Vice President will also be ordered to appear before the Senate "upon notice."

The prosecution, meanwhile, may file a reply within a non-extendible period of five days from receipt of the answer.

Duterte’s lawyers have stood firm that they are prepared to defend the second-highest official in the country before the Senate should it convene as an impeachment court.

They also emphasized that it is now up to the accusers to substantiate their allegations, possibly during the impeachment trial. —LDF, GMA News